Sanctuary
by Clato 27
Summary: "Charlie rolls his eyes, but keeps practicing his spin slowly. He hasn't even given Adam an official label, he shouldn't expect Fulton to know. 'I'm bi actually,' he says, not looking up." Another side to "Different" and the second in the "A Different Way To Love Series."


Charlie has the biggest crush on Adam Banks.

He had it since the second Adam went crashing into the goal post. From the moment Charlie's heart almost stopped in his chest because his ten year-old heart thought Adam had _died_.

Yeah, it was a little dramatic but he was ten and he's never seen a person get hit that hard in real life.

Anyway, Charlie had the biggest crush on Adam. He never really questioned it or thought it was odd. He'd had crushes on girls and he likes Adam the same way that all the other guy like girls so he never thought it was weird. It was just a part of life for Charlie.

…

When Adam gets kicked out of his house he moves straight into the Conway apartment.

And Charlie is thankful for it everyday.

Not only is it amazing to have his best friend around, but Adam staying for Christmas means that he has someone to be ignored with. His stepdad is fine most of the time. John's good to his mom and treats Charlie with respect. He doesn't try and father him or be his best friend, but he's nice to Charlie and is only a little grumpy when his step-son's friends get kicked out of their house and move into his apartment.

John's pretty good in the dad department, not that Charlie's had much experience, but his family is horrible. They like to pretend Casey doesn't have any children and that she's planning to have a whole gaggle of them with John.

This year though, he has someone to be ignored and talk shit with.

They find their way out to the fire escape quickly, snagging a couple of beers from the cooler and not grabbing their coats even though it snowed all morning.

There's a lull in conversation when Charlie asks the one question he's been thinking about for days. "So am I allowed to know how you accidently came out over dinner?"

Adam takes a swig of beer. "I would tell you but the whole thing happened because of something I'm not supposed to tell anyone." Charlie groaned. Adam is such a fucking shit. "Oh shut it, Conway, you can't keep a secret for shit."

"Ok, that's not entirely true. I can keep a secret if I need to," Charlie defends halfheartedly.

"Sure," Adam said sarcastically. Charlie had a snarky comeback on the tip of his tongue when he's interrupted by, James, one of John's nephews popping his head out of the window.

"Uh, Adam, there's some guy here to see you," he said. He's trying to look at Adam, but his eyes keep wandering back to Charlie as if the kid expects Charlie to jump him. John's siblings' kids make Adam's cake eating ass look like a hoodlum.

"Thanks," Adam replied before James ducked back into the house. Adam hands his beer to Charlie and stands up. "That's probably Bombay. He's come to save me from this hell."

"Take me with you," Charlie said dramatically. Charlie watched Adam climb back through the window and make his way through the apartment to the door. Charlie eyes the guy standing uncomfortably in the doorway. He looks like Adam's father, but younger and softer around the edges. Almost like Adam.

Charlie turns back around when Adam and the guy go out into the hall. It's probably Adam's brother, he reasons. Charlie's not sure who else could look so much

Charlie only met the guy once way back after they won the peewee championship for the first time and they had gone over to Adam's house to see if he was ok. Matt was the one who answered the door. He was a senior in high school back then and looked like a full on adult.

Now, he's actually an adult. He's old enough to take Adam in and move him all the way to Duluth or wherever the heck he lives.

Charlie downs both his beer and Adam before he goes back in the apartment. No one gives him a second glance when he leans himself against the wall next to the door. The walls are thin enough and the apartment is quiet enough that Charlie can hear what's being said on the other side of the door. And if he puts his ear against the wall, who cares? No one is paying enough attention to him to watch him do it.

"Ok, to mushy. I get that we're having a moment but you went too far," Charlie can tell that's Adam's voice even though the door.

"Sorry, sorry," Adam's brother said. "I haven't hung out with any teeagers in a while. I forgot how angsty you all can be." Charlie assumes that's Matt talking. "So, who is this Conway kid? Is he your boyfriend?"

Charlie almost jumps off the wall in surprise. He probably shouldn't listen to this. It's a total violation of privacy, but Charlie can't bring himself to move.

"No," Adam's reply comes quickly and he can hear Matt snort. "He's my best friend."

"Who you have a crush on," Matthew stated.

"I don't like him like that. He's been one of my best friend since we were, like, twelve."

Matt only replies with, "You forgot I was the one who taught you how to lie."

"Shut up, Matt!" Charlie can hear the embarrassment in Adam's voice. Charlie jumps off the wall than because he definitely heard more than he was supposed to.

Adam likes him. Adam _likes him_.

Charlie wants to fling the door open and kiss him right then, but he doesn't. He leans back against the wall again and crosses his arms over his chest. He knows he can't make a move yet. Adam had just gotten kicked out of his parents house and is still kind of a mess about it, even if he won't admit it. Charlie can't make a move on him, not yet.

So instead he leans back and fiddles with the buttons on his shirt. He looks up when Adam opens the door. "You good?" he asked.

Adam grins at him. He's the happiest Charlie has seen him in days. "More than good."

…

Charlie waits to make his move.

It's smart, he reasons. Adam had just been kicked out of his house and was either living full time at school, couchsurfing, or planing to make the three hour drive to his brother's house. It's a lot, especially on top of waiting to hear from colleges and end of senior year stuff.

Charlie making a move would be just another thing on top of that.

Plus, what if he's wrong and Adam doesn't feel the same way? Charlie would rather have Adam as his best friend than nothing at all.

So he waits a whole three months.

It's a regular day. Adam is folding laundry and Charlie is reading their assigned book from English aloud so Adam doesn't have to do it later, that's how great of a friend he is.

But Charlie isn't paying much attention to what he's reading. He's thinking about Adam and his cute face and perfect abs. And he thinks, fuck it.

He stands up, the book falling to the floor, and crosses the room in two steps. Adam starts to say something but doesn't finish because Charlie grabs his face and kisses him with everything he's got.

And Adam responds right away, his hands balling themselves up in Charlie's shirt and kissing back just as enthusiastically.

Until he's not.

And he pushes Charlie away, softly but forcefully. And Charlie knows he's fucke up. "Whoah, whoah, slow down," Adam said.

"What? Shit, did I read this whole thing wrong?" Charlie's heart is beating in overdrive .

"No, no, you didn't. It's just-" Adam's words are broken by heavy breaths. Charlie wonders if he'll be ever to breath again."You're- aren't you straight?"

There it is, the million dollar question Charlie can't even answer himself.

"Charlie, you're my best friend, but if you're just using me to experiment because I'm your only gay friend then-"

Charlie shuts him up with a kiss because he can't let Adam finish that sentence. He may not know if he's gay or if his crush on Adam is Just random, but he knows it's more than just curiosity. "I don't know what I am, but I know I'm not experimenting," Charlie said and Adam leveled him with a look. Here he goes. "Fine, maybe I am a little bit, but it's not just that, Adam. I just- I know I like girls and I know I like you. I don't know if that makes me bi or what, but I know kissing you is not just experimenting."

Adam's eyes are huge and he's staring at Charlie like he's grown a second head. Charlie wonders if he's about to get punched until Adam surprises him. "You like me?"

Charlie laughs breathily and shakes his head. "Yeah, I like you, Cake Eater. I like you a whole lot."

"Cool," Adam says breathlessly and just smiles dumbly at Charlie for a minute before adding, "I like you too."

There's a short kiss, than a question, "Can I take you out sometime?"

"Fuck yes," Adam breathes before kissing Charlie again and again.

…

Charlie loves giving Adam hickeys.

Usually, he's the only one that sees them. They're in between his thighs or on his chest, not places a normal person would look. But one night, he leaves a huge one on Adam's neck.

Adam is staring at it in the mirror when Charlie walks in from the bathroom. "You're a shit, Conway," he snaps.

Charlie wraps his hands around Adam's middle and kisses the back of his neck. "I don't know, Adam, it's kinda hot."

Adam is not impressed. "Now I have to go ask Connie or Julie to cover it up."

"No," Charlie says, knowing exactly what he's saying. "Leave it. It's hot. It'll be like our kinky little secret."

Adam gives him a look in the mirror but Charlie avoids it and detangles himself, grabs his backpack and is out of the dorm before Adam can say anything.

He goes until lunch without talking Adam, but he sees the other ducks who have all seen the hickey. Russ asks about it, Louis says something in passing, Goldberg makes faces and points at it in history class.

He knows Goldberg and Averman are going to make a scene, but he's ready for it. He knows the ducks aren't going to car. But that doesn't mean he's not nervous when he hears Averman yelling, "Hickey! Hickey! Hickey! Hickeeey!" from the other side of the crowded cafeteria.

Fulton and Portman are high fiving and laughing about who knows what when Charlie sits down next to Adam. Adam looks more annoyed that Charlie has seen him in months while the rest of the ducks are suspiciously quiet.

"Who's the guy, Adam?" Guy asked, but Connie basically cuts him off.

"Oh leave him alone, you guys."

"Yeah, guys," Julie agrees. She's smiling to nicely and is looking directly at Charlie when she continues, "I'm sure Adam will tell us all we want to know when he and whoever he's seeing decide they want to tell people."

Charlie takes a huge bite of his sandwich to avoid Julie and Connie's eyes. They're onto him. Actually, Adam probably told them point-five seconds after they got together and are waiting until now to make fun of him for it without actually outing them to the team.

He's mid chew when Goldberg points at him. "Conway's gotta know something!" Charlie swallows hard and shrugs nonchalantly. "Oh, c'mon, dude. You're his best friend and his roommate, you've gotta know something!"

Charlie swallows. "Maybe I do." He feels Adam tense next to him. This is it: now or never. "What would you say if it was me?"

Dwayne jumps up from his chair with a big, "Yeehaw! You, Kenny Wu, owe me twenty bucks!"

"Goddamn, Conway," Ken swore. "You couldn't keep it in your pants until graduation? C'mon, man!"

"You knew?" Charlie asked. Charlie expected the ducks not to be to surprised or just shrug it off, but he was not expect them to be betting on them.

Goldberg puts a hand on Charlie's arm. "Wait, you're gay for Banks?" he asked before pausing. He's looking down at the table in a state of shock "But, but, Linda!"

Averman's snort draws Charlie's attention away from Goldberg. "You really think we haven't noticed you making little heart eyes at Banks since the peewees. Not all of us are that dumb, Captain."

"Peewees?" Adam asked, grinning widely. His smile makes Charlie's heart skip a beat. "You've had a crush on me since peewees?"

"Shut up," Charlie said half heartedly, his cheeks heating.

"But Linda?" Goldberg asked, still a mile behind and confused.

"I like both, Goldberg. Guys and girls," Charlie explained slowly. Goldberg nodded, either taking that response as a suitable answer or he's just not ready to actually process information.

"So, how long has this been going on?" Guy asked.

Charlie looked at Adam. He's pretty sure the ducks wouldn't appreciate an exact count of how many days, hours, minutes they've been together. Not like Charlie was counting or anything. "About a month," Adam said.

"Ha," Kenny exclaimed. "In your face, Dwayne, I owe Julie twenty bucks, not you!"

"The winner is determined for when the relationship is revealed, Kenny, not when it started!" Dwayne fires back.

"That's bullshit!"

An argument breaks out in true ducks fashion, but Charlie doesn't pay much attention. He turns to Adam, who's still smiling like a dumbass. Charlie nods to the door and they both sneak out undetected. He takes Adam's hand before he overthinks it and the smile Adam gives him is worth any of the ribbing the team is going to throw at him.

Charlie is prepared to drag Adam all the way back to their dorm room before Adam pulls him back.

"So," Adam says. "Was that whole thing planned?"

Charlie shrugged lazily, coming into Adam's space and placing a hand on his hip. "Not entirely. I figured coming out would be worth seeing you walking around with a hickey on your neck all day."

"'Course," Adam whispered before Adam kissed him.

…

Summer is hot and lonely.

Approximately no one is actually available in Minneapolis during the summer. They're either out of state or might as well be.

That just leaves Fulton and Charlie to be little delinquents and break into the ice rink. It's nice, dark, empty, and, most importantly, cool. It's perfect for the bots to practice some figure skating moves Kenny taught them before leaving for San Francisco and escape the hottest day of the year.

Charlie's trying to land a spin when Fulton's voice breaks the silence. "How did you know you were gay?"

Charlie rolls his eyes, but keeps practicing his spin slowly. He hasn't even given Adam an official label, he shouldn't expect Fulton to know. "I'm bi actually," he says, not looking up.

"Oh," he says lamely. "Well, how did you know you were bi?"

Charlie stops moving and just lets his momentum slide him across the ice while he thinks about his answer. "I don't know. I've just always had crushes on girls and boys. It was just a thing. I didn't even think it was weird until middle school," Charlie answers.

Fulton mulls over Charlie's answer, not seeming satisfied with what Charlie said. "So, you want to have sex with guys and girls? Like, you're sexually attracted to both?"

"Yeah, I'm definitely sexually attracted to both. I don't know if I'd actually have sex with a girl though," Charlie shrugs. This seems to distress Fulton even more so he adds to attempt to lighten the mood: "Vaginas are some uncharted waters I'm kinda scared to look into. Plus, Adam's dick is to bomb to even think about leaving."

"Ok, ok, that's enough. Thanks for sharing, but I don't want to hear about Banks' dick," his face scrunches up, but his voice is lighter.

"Oh, dude, but if you truly want to know about the bisexual experience you need to hear about Banksy's dick. That thing can turn the straightest of straights." The fae Fulton makes draws a laugh out of Charlie.

"Shut it, Conway," Fulton said and the next thing Charlie knows he's falling face first onto the ice.

…

"Not to toot my own horn or anything, but your mom loves me," Adam said as they climbed up the narrow stairs to the Charlie's apartment. Charlie sends him a glare over his shoulder and Adam shoves him lightly. "She loves you more though, dumbass. You're going to be fine."

Charlie stops and turns on the stairs so he's looking way down on Adam for once. Usually, their eye to eye, but now Charlie is a whole head higher than him. "How can you be this optimistic? You got kicked out of your house remember?"

"I do," Adam states without hesitation. "But that was because my parents kind of suck and if I remember correctly you're mom was the one that took me in without hesitation."

"It's-"

"It's not different, Charlie, and you know it," Adam said. "You're mom isn't going to care."

Charlie kicks at the faded carpet under his feet. "Yeah, I guess you're right

"Hey, Mom," Charlie said, nervously picking at his nails as Casey set down the book she was reading.

"Hi, boys," Casey said before embracing both boys. "Dinner's almost ready. How have your days been?"

"Uh, Mom, I want to, uh…" Charlie stuttered. "I want to introduce you to someone."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, Charlie, but I already know Adam."

"It is Adam," Charlie said, interlocking his fingers with Adam's. "My boyfriend, Adam." Casey stops moving and Charlie's sure she's about to ask him to leave or just pretend she didn't hear it or _something_ that will wreck their relationship forever.

But she doesn't. Instead she gives him a hug, kisses the side of his face and goes into the kitchen. "That's great, honey. Does this mean I can start calling Adam son?"

"Already ahead of you, Mom," Adam called back before turning to Charlie. "I told you it would all be ok."

"Yeah, yeah," Charlie smiled as Adam kissed him. "You're always right. I get it."

…

"Ok, Jackson, I know you're scared but this is easier than it looks," Charlie said, kneeling in front of his son while trying up his brand new skates. He looked up to see Jackson staring down at the prestige white snow under his feet. "Your Ada and I will be next to you the whole time."

"I'm not gonna fall?" Jackson asked, his voice small.

Charlie smiled. "No way, kid. You've seen your Ada skate right? He's the best in the NHL right? And, I'm going to let you in on a little secret, I'm better than him."

Jackson's eyes lit up at that. "Really, Ada?" Jackson asked, his eyes meeting Adam as he walked up to them.

"Sure, Jacks," Adam smiled, shifting their daughter on his hip.

Charlie stood up and brushed the snow off his jeans before holding his hand out. "Ready to go, Jackson."

Jackson nodded hesitantly before taking Charlie's hand in one of his small hands and Adam's in the other. The little family slowly made their way to the same pond Charlie and Adam learned to skate on years before.

Jackson slipped a couple of times, but his dads were there to catch him, his little sister giggling in her father's arms the whole time.

Charlie lets go of Jackson's hand and he skates off slowly, stumbling a couple times but eventually getting the hang of it and speeding up. Charlie stops to watch him and Adam slides up next to him silently and makes a bad attempt at leaving their gloved fingers together.

"He'll be a pro in no time," Charlie smiled.

Adam shrugged. "Or just a coach."

Charlie just shakes his head, but has trouble keeping the smile off his face. "You're too cheesy for your own good, Cake Eater."

"Maybe, but you love me for it," Adam grins.

"Yeah," Charlie grinned. "I really do."


End file.
